Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales; THE MAUNCIPLES TALE

Part 29

PROLOGUE TO THE MAUNCIPLES TALE

Heere folweth the Prologe of the Maunciples tale.

Woot ye nat where ther stant a litel toun,Which that ycleped is Bobbe-up-and-dounUnder the Blee, in Caunterbury weye?Ther gan oure Hooste for to jape and pleye,And seyde, 'Sires, what, Dun is in the Myre!

Is ther no man for preyere ne for hyre,That wole awake oure felawe al bihynde?A theef myghte hym ful lightly robbe and bynde.See how he nappeth, see how for Cokkes bones,That he wol falle fro his hors atones.

Is that a Cook of London, with meschaunce?Do hym com forth, he knoweth his penaunce,For he shal telle a tale, by my fey,Although it be nat worth a botel hey.Awake, thou Cook,' quod he, 'God yeve thee sorwe,

What eyleth thee, to slepe by the morwe?Hastow had fleen al nyght, or artow dronke?Or hastow with som quene al nyght yswonkeSo that thow mayst nat holden up thyn heed?'This Cook that was ful pale, and no thyng reed,

To thee, Sire Cook, and to no wight displeseWhich that heere rideth in this compaignye,And that oure Hoost wole of his curteisye,I wol as now excuse thee of thy tale,For, in good feith, thy visage is ful pale.

And with this speche the Cook wax wrooth and wraw,And on the Manciple he gan nodde faste,For lakke of speche, and doun the hors hym caste,Where as he lay til that men up hym took;This was a fair chyvachee of a Cook!

Allas, he nadde holde hym by his ladel!And er that he agayn were in his sadelTher was greet showvyng bothe to and fro,To lifte hym up, and muchel care and wo,So unweeldy was this sory palled goost.

And to the Manciple thanne spak oure hoost,'By cause drynke hath dominacioun,Upon this man, by my savacioun,I trowe he lewedly wolde telle his tale.For were it wyn, or oold or moysty ale,

That he hath dronke, he speketh in his nose,And fneseth faste, and eek he hath the pose.He hath also to do moore than ynoughTo kepen hym and his capul out of slough,And if he falle from his capul eftsoone,

Thanne shal we alle have ynogh to dooneIn liftyng up his hevy dronken cors.Telle on thy tale, of hym make I no fors;But yet, Manciple, in feith thou art to nyce,Thus openly repreve hym of his vice.

Another day he wole peraventureReclayme thee and brynge thee to lure.I meene he speke wole of smale thynges,As for to pynchen at thy rekenynges,That were nat honeste, if it cam to preef.'

'No,' quod the Manciple, 'that were a greet mescheef,So myghte he lightly brynge me in the snare;Yet hadde I levere payen for the mare,Which that he rit on, than he sholde with me stryveI wol nat wratthen hym, al so moot I thryve;

That that I speke, I seyde it in my bourde.And wite ye what, I have heer in a gourdeA draghte of wyn, ye, of a ripe grape,And right anon ye shul seen a good jape.This Cook shal drynke therof if that I may,

Up peyne of deeth, he wol nat seye me nat.'And certeynly, to tellen as it was,Of this vessel the Cook drank faste; allas,What neded hym? he drank ynough biforn!And whan he hadde pouped in this horn,

To the Manciple he took the gourde agayn,And of that drynke the Cook was wonder fayn,And thanked hym in swich wise as he koude.Thanne gan oure Hoost to laughen wonder loude,And seyde, 'I se wel it is necessarie

Where that we goon, that drynke we with us carie.For that wol turne rancour and diseseTacord and love and many a wrong apese.O thou Bacus, yblessed be thy name,That so kanst turnen ernest into game!

Worship and thank be to thy deitee!Of that mateere ye gete namoore of me,Telle on thy tale, Manciple, I thee preye.''Wel, sire,' quod he, 'now herkneth what I seye.'

THE MAUNCIPLES TALE

Heere bigynneth the Maunciples tale of the Crowe.

Whan Phebus dwelled heere in this world adoun,As olde bookes maken mencioun,He was the mooste lusty bachilerIn al this world, and eek the beste archer.He slow Phitoun the serpent, as he lay

Slepynge agayn the sonne upon a day;And many another noble worthy dedeHe with his bowe wroghte, as men may rede.Pleyen he koude on every mynstralcie,And syngen, that it was a melodie

To heeren of his cleere voys the soun.Certes, the kyng of Thebes, Amphioun,That with his syngyng walled that citee,Koude nevere syngen half so wel as hee.Therto he was the semelieste man,

That is or was sith that the world bigan.What nedeth it hise fetures to discryve?For in this world was noon so fair on lyve.He was therwith fulfild of gentillesse,Of honour, and of parfit worthynesse.

This Phebus that was flour of bachilrie,As wel in fredom as in chivalrie,For his desport, in signe eek of victorieOf Phitoun, so as telleth us the storie,Was wont to beren in his hand a bowe.

Now hadde this Phebus in his hous a crowe,Which in a cage he fostred many a day,And taughte it speken as men teche a jay.Whit was this crowe, as is a snow-whit swan,And countrefete the speche of every man

He koude, whan he sholde telle a tale.Therwith in al this world no nyghtngaleNe koude, by an hondred thousand deel,Syngen so wonder myrily and weel.Now hadde this Phebus in his hous a wyf

Which that he lovede moore than his lyf;And nyght and day dide evere his diligenceHir for to plese and doon hire reverence.Save oonly, if the sothe that I shal sayn,Jalous he was, and wolde have kept hire fayn,

For hym were looth byjaped for to be-And so is every wight in swich degree;But al in ydel, for it availleth noght.A good wyf that is clene of werk and thoghtSholde nat been kept in noon awayt, certayn.

And trewely the labour is in vaynTo kepe a shrewe, for it wol nat bee.This holde I for a verray nycetee,To spille labour for to kepe wyves,Thus writen olde clerkes in hir lyves.

But now to purpos, as I first bigan:This worthy Phebus dooth al that he kanTo plesen hir, wenynge that swich plesaunce,And for his manhede and his governaunce,That no man sholde han put hym from hire grace.

But God it woot, ther may no man embraceAs to destreyne a thyng, which that natureHath natureelly set in a creature.Taak any bryd, and put it in a cage,And do al thyn entente and thy corage

To fostre it tendrely with mete and drynke,Of alle deyntees that thou kanst bithynke;And keepe it al so clenly as thou may,Al though his cage of gold be nevere so gay,Yet hath this bryd, by twenty thousand foold,

Levere in a forest that is rude and cooldGoon ete wormes, and swich wrecchednesse;For evere this bryd wol doon his bisynesseTo escape out of his cage, whan he may.His libertee this bryd desireth ay.

Lat take a cat, and fostre hym wel with milk,And tendre flessh, and make his couche of silk,And lat hym seen a mous go by the wal,Anon he weyveth milk and flessh and al,And every deyntee that is in that hous,

Swich appetit he hath to ete a mous.Lo, heere hath lust his dominacioun,And appetit fleemeth discrecioun.A she wolf hath also a vileyns kynde,The lewedeste wolf that she may fynde,

Or leest of reputacioun wol she take,In tyme whan hir lust to han a make.Alle thise ensamples speke I by thise men,That been untrewe, and no thyng by wommen,For men han evere a likerous appetit

On lower thyng to parfourne hire delit,Than on hire wyves, be they nevere so faire,Ne nevere so trewe, ne so debonaire.Flessh is so newefangel, with meschaunce,That we ne konne in no thyng han plesaunce

That sowneth into vertu any while.This Phebus, which that thoghte upon no gile,Deceyved was, for al his jolitee;For under hym another hadde shee,A man of litel reputacioun,

Hir lemman? certes, this is a knavyssh speche,Foryeveth it me, and that I yow biseche.The wise Plato seith, as ye may rede,'The word moot nede accorde with the dede.'If men shal telle proprely a thyng,

The word moot cosyn be to the werkyng.I am a boystous man, right thus seye I.Ther nys no difference trewelyBitwixe a wyf that is of heigh degree-If of hire body dishoneste she bee-

And a povre wenche, oother than this,If it so be they werke bothe amys,But that the gentile in hire estaat above,She shal be cleped his lady as in love,And for that oother is a povre womman,

She shal be cleped his wenche, or his lemman;And God it woot, myn owene deere brother,Men leyn that oon as lowe as lith that oother.Right so bitwixe a titlelees tirauntAnd an outlawe, or a theef erraunt,

The same I seye, ther is no difference.To Alisaundre was toold this sentence,That for the tiraunt is of gretter myght,By force of meynee for to sleen dounright,And brennen hous and hoom, and make al playn,

Lo, therfore is he cleped a capitayn!And for the outlawe hath but smal meynee,And may nat doon so greet an harm as he,Ne brynge a contree to so greet mescheef,Men clepen hym an outlawe or a theef.

But for I am a man noght textueel,I wol noght telle of textes nevere a deel;I wol go to my tale as I bigan.Whan Phebus wyf had sente for hir lemman,Anon they wroghten al hir lust volage.

The montance of a gnat, so moote I thryve,For on thy bed thy wyf I saugh hym swyve.'What wol ye moore? the crowe anon hym tolde,By sadde tokenes and by wordes bolde,How that his wyf han doon hire lecherye,

Hym to greet shame and to greet vileynye,And tolde hym ofte, he asugh it with hise eyen.This Phebus gan aweyward for to wryen,And thoughte his sorweful herte brast atwo,His bowe he bente and sette ther inne a flo,

And in his ire his wyf thanne hath he slayn.This is theffect, ther is namoore to sayn,For sorwe of which he brak his mynstralcie,Bothe harpe, and lute, and gyterne, and sautrie,And eek he brak hise arwes and his bowe,

And after that thus spak he to the crowe.'Traitour,' quod he, 'with tonge of scorpioun,Thou hast me broght to my confusioun,Allas, that I was wroght! why nere I deed?O deere wyf, O gemme of lustiheed,

That were to me so sad and eek so trewe,Now listow deed with face pale of hewe,Ful giltelees, that dorste I swere, ywys.O rakel hand, to doon so foule amys!O trouble wit, O ire recchelees!

That unavysed smyteth gilteles.O wantrust, ful of fals suspecioun,Where was thy wit and thy discrecioun?O, every man, be war of rakelnesse,Ne trowe no thyng withouten strong witnesse.

And made hym blak, and refte hym al his song,And eek his speche, and out at dore hym slong,Unto the devel-which I hym bitake!-And for this caas been alle Crowes blake.Lordynges, by this ensample I yow preye,

Beth war and taketh kepe what I seye:Ne telleth nevere no man in youre lyfHow that another man hath dight his wyf;He wol yow haten mortally, certeyn.Daun Salomon, as wise clerkes seyn,

Right as a swerd forkutteth and forkervethAn arme atwo, my deere sone, right soA tonge kutteth freendshipe al atwo.A jangler is to God abhomynable;Reed Salomon, so wys and honurable,

Reed David in hise psalmes, reed Senekke!My sone, spek nat, but with thyn heed thou bekke;Dissimule as thou were deef, it that thou heereA jangler speke of perilous mateere.The Flemyng seith, and lerne it if thee leste,

That litel janglyng causeth muchel reste.My sone, if thou no wikked word hast seyd,Thee thar nat drede for to be biwreyd;But he that hath mysseyd, I dar wel sayn,He may by no wey clepe his word agayn.

Thyng that is seyd is seyd, and forth it gooth;Though hym repente, or be hym leef or looth,He is his thral to whom that he hath saydA tale, of which he is now yvele apayd.My sone, be war, and be noon auctour newe

Of tidynyges, wheither they been false or trewe,Wherso thou com, amonges hye or lowe,Kepe wel thy tonge, and thenk upon the Crowe.'